this point the public was dictating the government's moves. Aridor later met with the banks' managers, who demanded the government limit the public's purchases of U.S. dollars, and allow it only for plane tickets. They assumed that without an option to save the money themselves, due to the high inflation, the public would be forced to invest in the banks' stocks. Even if their thesis was correct, one can assume such a move would only fuel the panic, and exacerbate the crisis. On October 5, the stock exchange again opened with large numbers of sell offers, and on October 6, 1983, nicknamed "Black Thursday", there was an onslaught of sales. It was clear a collapse was a matter of days away at most, since the banks declared that day they would be unable to absorb additional supplies without government assistance. That night, in a meeting at Aridor's home, it was decided that the government would purchase the banks' stocks from the public, to prevent the loss of their investments. On Sunday, October 9, the stock exchange remained closed, and stayed closed till October 24. In the meantime the shekel was devalued by 23%. The stocks sold by the public were bought by the Bank of Israel (the nation's central bank) at an average loss of 17%. Eventually, 35% of the stocks' value was lost. Results The immediate consequences of the crisis were the loss of a third of the public's investments in the banks, the acquisition of the banks by the government at a total cost of $6.9 billion (for reference, Israel's entire GDP in 1983 was about $27 billion), and the nationalization of the major banks (Leumi, Hapoalim, HaMizrachi, Discount, and Clali). Executives of each of the banks were convicted of criminal charges. Raphael Recanati of Discount Bank and Mordechai Einhorn of Bank Leumi were both sentenced to 8-month prison terms. Recanati's sentence was suspended on appeal when one of five charges was quashed. As part of the settlement, the controlling interest in Discount Bank, as well as the other banks, was ceded to the government. Bejski Commission Following the scandal, in 1984, the State Comptroller issued a report on the crisis, causing the Knesset State Review Committee to decide on January 7, 1985, to establish a national commission of inquiry. The commission was headed by Judge Moshe Bejski. The commission presented its findings on April 16, 1986. The